Automatically-closing fire-shutter.



A. RUSH.

AUTOMATICALLY CLOSING FIRE SHUT'IIER. APPLICATION FILED PEB.2B, 1907.

910,234. Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

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. M gmwwboz 7 Mhtmmoeo jlgrifizls UNITED STATES PATENT cronies.

ALBERT RUSH, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE KINNEAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

AUTOMATICALLY-CLOSING FIRE-SHUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT RUsH, a citizen of the 'United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatically- Olosing Fire-Shutters, of which the followin is a specification.

he invention relates more particularly to that class of fire resisting shutter or curtain which is normally held in raised position and is automatically released to close the opening for which it is designed upon the occurrence of fire.

Rolling fire resisting shutters or curtains,

as now commonly constructed, are of iron and are heavy, and hence when automaticall released to close the opening are likely to escend with great violence. Further, after they have descended they may be difficult to push up by hand, thus .making ready escape from or access to the building difiicult and sometimes impracticable.

The object of this invention, therefore, is the provision of means whereby, after the curtain has been released and partially unrolled, a counterbalancing effect shall be applied or added for the purpose of resisting or opposing violence in its descent, and for permitting the curtain to be easily raised-0r at least partially raised and sufficiently for the purpose of permitting ingress to or egress from the building.

The invention resides in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter defront exterior elevation showing the roller,

a fraction of the curtain, and other arts in section, the osition of the parts fieing substantially tliat when the curtain is wound u or raised; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of t e right hand end'bracket and the arts attached thereto, as shown in Fig. 1; ig. 3 is a view of the top of what is shown in Fig. 2 Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line a:w Fig. 1, but on a ma nified scale, a portion of the roller being bro en out.

In the views 1 and 1 designate the usual end brackets for supporting the roller.

2- is a stud shaft pinned as at 2 to the left hand end of the roller and journaled in the left hand end bracket 1*.

3' designates the drum or sheet metal cylinder of the roller within which are secured collars 4 and 4 perforated centrally to turn on a shaft 5 in the right hand end of the roller.

Secured to the collar 4 and to a suitable small collar 5 pinned to the shaft is a coiled spring 6 so that if said shaft be held and the drum turned the spring 'Will be put under tension. The shaft 5 projects through and is journaled in a bearing in the rig t hand end bracket 1.

Secured on the shaft 5 beyond the right hand end bracket is a Wheel 7 having teeth 7 one of which, when the curtain is turned up to the desired extent, is engaged by a lever 8 pivoted at 8" on the outer side of the bracket 1, said lever being provided with a suitable lug or lugs 8 to engage the tooth 7*, or so as to prevent the unrolling of the curtain. To hold the lever 8 engaged with the wheel 7, a latch 9 pivoted at 9 to ears on the bracket is provided, said latch being held in lever-engaging position by means of a wire 10 stretched etween a fixed point 10 and-the latch. The wire 10 is made up of sections united by a material 11solder for eXample-fusible or disintegrable by a dangerous rise oftem erature due to proximate fire. Upon suc rise of temperature, therefore, the solder will soften and release the sections of wire 10, the latch 9, and lever 8, which falling out of the way release the wheel 7 and permit the curtain to unwind and descend. In the present instance the weight of the unrollecl portion of the curtain is indicated to be such as to cause the curtain to descend, but devices can be provided to give the curtain vertical movement downward if desired or necessary. In the present instance the wheel 7 is shown to have a hub projecting beyond the face of the wheel, as indicated at 7 12 designates a metallic bar mounted to slide laterally on pins 13 and 13* secured to the outer side of the end bracket 1. This bar is tap ed at its middle with a threaded hole is normally so located with reference to the end of the hub that a iven number of turns of the shaft will fetch t e bar a ainst the hub and thus made to serve as a bra e to check or stop the rotation of the shaft. The number of turns of the shaft is to be determined in each instance by the length of the curtain 1 and by the stren th of the spring, it being the desideratum t at the shaft cease its rotation and that the curtain begin to exert its Weight and momentum on the spring at that point where, by the time the opening is counterbalances the wei ht of the curtain and so prevents its furt er descent. The arrangement, of course, can be such that the weight of the curtain is not completely counterbalanced when the curtain is completely closed, but in either case the violence of the descent is relieved and in a graduated manner.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a curtain roller and curtain thereon, of a counterbalancing means to operate in connection therewith, and automatically operative means whereby after the curtain is partially unrolled, the

counterbalancin means is brought into 0 eration to retar the further descent of tl ie curtain. i

2. The combination with a curtain roller and curtain thereon, of a counterbalancing means to operate in connection therewith, and automatically'operative means whereby after the curtain is partially unrolled the counterbalancin means is brought into 0 eration to retar the further descent of t e curtain, saidmeans for bringing the counter- .balancing means into operatlon also acting to release the counterbalancing means when the curtain is rolled up.

3. The combination with a curtain roller and curtain thereon, of a counterbalancing means to operate in connection therewith, a brake and automatically operative means in connectionwith said brake and the curtain and roller whereby after the curtain is partially unrolled operative connection between the counterbalancing means and the curtain is efiected and after the curtain is partially rolled up said connection is released.

4. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a spring connected with the shaft, and means whereby said spring is rendered operative to counterbalance the curtain in a portion only of its descent.

5. The combination with a rolling curtain, of means whereby the same is held raised, said curtain adapted automatically to descend on the release of said means, a counterbalancing means to operate in connection with the curtain, and automatically operative means whereby after the curtain is partially unrolled the counterbalancing means is brought into operation to retard the further descent of the curtain.

6. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a counterbalancing device controlled by the shaft, a releasable latch for holding the shaft from rotation in theraised position of the curtain, and means for checking the rotation of the shaft after the curtain is partially unwound whereby the counterbalancing means is made effective on the curtain during a portion only of its descent.

7. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor; of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a counterbalancing device controlled by the shaft, a releasable latch for holding the shaft from rotation in the raised position of the curtain, and means for automatically checking the rotation of the shaft after the curtain is partially unwound whereby the counterbalaneing means is made effective on the curtain during a por-' tion only of its descent.

8. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a sprin connecting the shaft and roller, means or latching the shaft from rotation in the raised position of the curtain, means for releasing said latching means, a brake for the shaft, and means whereb the brake is operated to lock the shaft a er the curtain is partially unwound whereby tension is roduced in the spring during a portion on y of the descent of the curtain.

9. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a sprin connecting the shaft and roller, means or latching the shaft from rotation in the raised position of the curtain, means for releasing sa1d latching means, a brake for the shaft, said brake being operated by the shaft to lock the same from rotation after the curtain is partially unwound whereby tension is produced in the spring during a portion only of the descent o the curtain.

10. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a spring connecting the shaft and roller, means for latching the shaft from rotation in the raised position of the curtain, means for automatically releasing said latching means, a brake for the shaft, and means whereby the brake is antomatically operated to lock the shaft after the curtain is partially unwound whereby tension is produced in the spring during a portion only of the descent or the curtain.

11. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, 'of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a s ring connecting the shaft and roller, means or latching the shaft from rotation in the raised position of the curtain, means for releasing said latching means, a brake having threaded connection. with the shaft whereby the brake'is operated to lock the shaft after the curtain is artially unwound and tension is produced in the s ring during a portion only of the descent of t e curtain.

12. The combination with a curtain and roller therefor, of a shaft adapted to rotate with the roller and with reference to which the roller can turn, a spring connecting the shaft and roller, means for latchin the shaft from rotation in the raised position of the curtain, means for releasing said latching means, a non-rotative brake having threaded connection with the shaft whereby said brake is moved against a part on the shaft to generate braking friction after the curtain is artially unwound and tension is produced 1n the s ring during a portion only of the descent o the curtain.

ALBERT RUSH. Witnesses:

CHAS. BRASHEAR, BENJAMIN FINCKEL. 

